The in-form Dan Skelton looks to have several chances this afternoon and his Knockgraffon can get the ball rolling. The five-year-old had a couple of bumper starts last season, finishing third on his racecourse debut at Fairyhouse, before chasing home the highly regarded Kayf Adventure on his stable/British debut. But given his pedigree he was always going to be better over hurdles and, having schooled well in preparation, he can get off the mark at the first time of asking.

Quite a competitive veterans’ chase won last year by the returning Lie Forritt. He should make another bold bid but he’s 20lb higher this time round and it’s doubtful he can give 11lb to Peter Bowen’s Danimix. The ten-year-old has taken on a new lease of life since being switched to his current stable and, following easy wins at Fontwell and Chepstow, is chasing a hat-trick here. Still relatively lightly-raced over the bigger obstacles, it’s possible he’s still improving – which can’t be said of his rivals – and a 10lb rise might not be enough to stop him.

David Bridgwater’s gelding lost his way after winning a valuable contest at Haydock last November, but he’s been dropped back down to a good mark as a result and might be the type to catch fresh. His trainer fancied him to go close in last season’s Badger Beer Chase, won by The Young Master, only for him to fall at the first and believes there is a big staying handicap in him this term. With the stable in good form, it could well be today and he’s a value price with the Paul Nicholls-trained Cowards Close taking a big chunk out of the market. That horse is respected, but he has a career-high mark to overcome and looks underpriced due to his powerful connections.

This is a decent renewal of the Old Roan Chase and plenty can be fancied, including year’s winner Wishfull Thinking who lines up off the same mark. But he has to give weight away all round to some younger rivals and the one that interests me most is Dan Skelton’s Le Bacardy. He’s not always looked straightforward, admittedly, but his last two starts for Skelton have been career bests and it’s likely he has been trained for this valuable prize after winning on the last of those at Market Rasen in May. The key to him is a strong pace as he has to be ridden to come late and that is almost assured here. With his stable firing on all cylinders and in receipt of weight from all his rivals, he’s well worth an each-way interest at a double-figure price.

Peter Bowen has a fantastic record with his bumper runners at Aintree, with five winners from just 11 runners (45%) over the past five seasons for a level-stakes profit of £25.00. That stat alone entitles his Classi Massini to plenty of respect and he’s temptingly priced at 16/1 (8s in a place), despite this looking an above average bumper. Market support would be significant, as it always is in these type of races.